Democrats seek to seize control of deadlocked Michigan House in special elections

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Democratic lawmakers are hoping to win back a majority in the deadlocked Michigan House and regain control of the state government in two special elections on Tuesday.

Democrat Mai Xiong is taking on Republican Ronald Singer in District 13, while Peter Herzberg, a Democrat, faces Republican Josh Powell in District 25. Both districts are located just outside Detroit and are heavily Democratic, with the previous Democratic incumbents each having won by over 25 percentage points in 2022.

The lower chamber has been tied 54-54 between Democratic and Republican lawmakers since November, when two Democratic representatives vacated their seats after winning mayoral races in their hometowns. Democrats previously held a majority in both chambers along with control of the governor’s office.

“These special elections will determine who controls the House here in Michigan and set the tone for November, when we will decide whether Democrats hold on to the state House,” said Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes.

Democrats flipped both chambers in the 2022 midterms while maintaining control of the governor’s office to win a trifecta for the first time in 40 years. They moved quickly to roll back decades of Republican measures and implement the party’s agenda in their first year, including overhauling the state’s gun laws.

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